Cox sells Louisiana cable operations (NOT N.O., B.R. & Laf.)
Cox Communications Inc. sold its cable television operations in some of its Louisiana markets, including Lake Charles, Bossier City and Alexandria, to Cebridge Connections Inc., Atlanta-based Cox said last week.
The sale does not include Cox systems in the New Orleans area, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, said company spokeswoman Ellen East. A sale price was not disclosed.
Cebridge Connections, which is operated by St. Louis-based telecommunications provider Cequel III LLC, also will be taking over some Cox cable systems in Texas, North Carolina, California and Arkansas. About 900,000 basic cable subscribers will see a change of provider.
In March, privately held Cox said it was exploring the sale to reduce debt and roll out additional services, including telephone service, in its core markets. Cox will be left with about 5.4 million basic cable subscribers, while Cebridge will have about 1.3 million customers, the companies said.
Cox's operations in the New Orleans area include Orleans, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Bernard parishes, which sustained extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29. The Lake Charles area was hit hard by Hurricane Rita on Sept. 24.
"We're not selling New Orleans, we love New Orleans," East said.
East said the sale also would include high-speed Internet connections in the affected markets.
Cox said it expected the sale to close during the second quarter of 2006.
